South Bay Spanish Tutor
About
Medical Spanish
Travel Spanish
Conversational Spanish
Vocational Spanish
Business Spanish
ESL, English as a Second Language
ELL
I love to assess students and help them to achieve their outcomes. Many students say they want to be fluent in a language and this usual comes from a related dream/ goal that people have for their careers or hobbies. I am more than happy to help people uncover this desire during our first session, create a syllabus, and set a timeline for achievement. I've done my work when you've achieved your goal.
I've been a language instructor for over 6 years in English and Spanish and have dabbled in the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and French. My gift is that I have an incredible ear for language and know how to translate this knowledge to my students.
I have a University of Cambridge certification (CELTA) for teaching English to adults and I translate this knowledge and experience to my students. I helped run a language school in Tokyo, Japan where I learned how to teach advanced test prep, have spent 3 years in some of LA's busiest language schools teaching communicative English and started up my own business, South Bay Spanish Tutor, when I returned to the US from Colombia where I was a bilingual ecotour guide. I have personal bilingual experience in many industries. I am a native speaker of English and Colombian Spanish.
Please find me on the web. South Bay Spanish Tutor.
I hope we can work together.
Kristin
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
The first session covers an assessment of exposure to language and goal setting and assessment of linguistic skill in Reading/Listening/ Speaking and Writing.
By the second session, I have created a syllabus and we start right away on working towards goals.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
B.A in Geography with a minor in Spanish
CELTA Certification in Teaching English Language to Adults from the University of Cambridge
6 years teaching English and Spanish in communicative settings, privately and in a classroom
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
My assessment covers budget of the person, lessons per week, current skills, and goals. Prices are set once goals and skill level is established.
How did you get started teaching?
I taught a Spanish immersion course for the Colombian goverment where I lived with teachers for 2 weeks in rural Colombia. I had just finished a bilingual gig as a Spanish/English ecotour gig when I got my big break. I had my first taste of the communicative method there and saw how effective it was in such a short span of time.
Additionally, I was a teacher's aide in a bilingual Spanish/English second grade classroom for a school year after college.
When I got back home from Colombia, I started my own Spanish tutoring business and became a full time ESL instructor as well.
What types of students have you worked with?
All ages. I have spent the majority of my career with adults from 18-50 years old.
But I have even had students as young as 5 years old and as old as 70 for various periods of time.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
Yesterday, I was teaching in my beginner classroom about food and this evolved into a multilingual conversation about Saudi Arabian's use butter and sugar as a compliment for men and women. For example, if you want to say that a man is handsome, you'll say " You are butter!" and if a woman is beautiful, you'll say, "You are sugar!" Can you imagine a group of Japanese students and myself trying to repeat these phrases in Arabic? It was pretty darn cute!!!! In any case, we ended up practicing similar phrases in Japanese too. It got my students warmed up to really move their mouths in English!! I'm so lucky! I have moments like these almost every day in teaching.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
If they can't give you a proper assessment and a timeline based on your current skills and needs, they aren't a language professional! If your teacher doesn't give you homework, be concerned. Your teacher should be able to put you in any direction on the internet to seek further resources for language acquistion.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Don't just say you want to be fluent. Talk about your history with learning language. Why do you actually want to learn the language? Is it for family reasons? Career? Hobbies? Future plans?
Being honest with yourself will help you transmit this information more rapidly.
And don't worry if you took another language for 56,778 years in a traditional language setting and you still can't speak. You simply didn't have a communicative teacher.
You'll speak on day one with me.